Jak II
Jak II (Jak II: Renegade in Europe and Australia) is the second game in the Jak and Daxter series, and the 2nd chronologically. Jak II has darker and more mature themes than the first game, and Jak is given a voice for the first time in the series. Plot At the end of The Precursor Legacy, Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira discovered and began to repair the Rift Rider and Rift Gate found in Gol and Maia's Citadel. After they finished the repairs, Jak pressed a button on the Rift Rider and accidentally opened the Rift Gate. A swarm of black creatures flew out and a huge monster emerged, causing the group to panic and hit several buttons on the console for the Rift Rider. Jak accidentally activated the launch for the console, which caused them to escape the monster, but sent them headlong into the Rift Gate, where the Rift Rider explodes, separating the group. The story then followed Jak and Daxter, who ended up in a dystopia called Haven City. Jak was immediately captured by Erol and several Guards for unknown reasons. Daxter ran off and vowed to save Jak (triggering the events of Daxter). Inside the Fortress where he was taken, Jak was the subject of two years of experiments as part of Baron Praxis' Dark Warrior Program. After seeing that there were no visible effects on Jak, the Baron decided that the Dark Eco tests on Jak were a failure, and ordered Erol to terminate him. Erol left after promising Jak 'he'd be back later'. Daxter then showed up to rescue Jak, and briefly saw how much the Dark Eco has indeed affected Jak when he transformed into an alter ego, known outside the game as Dark Jak, and almost attacked his own friend. Afterward, they escaped the Krimzon Guard Fortress. Once outside, they met an old man named Kor and a young child, who Jak promptly saved from a group of Krimzon Guards. Kor told Jak as part of a quick agreement to go see The Shadow, who was the leader of The Underground movement whose aim was to overthrow Baron Praxis and put the true heir, the young child with Kor, on the throne. Upon finding the Underground Headquarters, however, Jak and Daxter met Torn, a high-ranking member of the Underground who assigned most missions. He refuses to let Jak and Daxter see the Shadow until they proved themselves. After Jak proved his worth to the Underground by retrieving the Baron's banner from Dead Town, but were still not allowed to see the Shadow, Torn sent the duo on a "delivery" to the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon where they met Krew and Sig, who told Jak and Daxter that Haven City was at war with an alien race called the Metal Heads. In return for the delivery of eco ore, Sig gave Jak the Scatter Gun and Jak, Daxter, and Sig went outside the city walls to destroy some Metal Heads. Torn later sent Jak and Daxter to blow up an ammo dump in the Krimzon Guard fortress. There they found a group of guards giving Eco to some more Metal Heads. Also, they found a red security gate clearance pass. Returning to Torn they realized that Baron Praxis was working with the Metal Heads to stay on the throne, as the war was a distraction from Praxis' harsh government. Torn then sent them to rescue Vin, a paranoid scientist who was stranded at a strip mine. Afterward, they met Ashelin, a high ranking member of the Krimzon Guard who, unbeknownst to the rest of the guard, was working with the Underground. Krew sent Jak to meet a racing manager down in the stadium, who they later found out is Keira. Torn eventually tells Jak that the "Shadow" wants them to stop the Metal Heads from reaching "The Sacred Site" outside the city wall, in order to protect an important artifact from the Metal Heads. At the end of the mission, Jak and Daxter made a horrifying discovery. They found that the Sacred Site was actually Samos' hut, meaning that they were in the future of their own world. Just after discovering this, they met the Underground's leader. The Shadow turned out to be a younger Samos who, surprisingly to Jak and Daxter, didn't recognize them. Despite having to deal with a younger (and possibly even grouchier) Samos, they pushed on to more important matters. They were told that the Kid with Kor was important because, as heir to the throne of Mar, he could open The Tomb of Mar, which hid the Precursor Stone, a critical artifact to win the war against the Metal Heads. Activating a beam in the forest, Jak and Daxter destroyed a statue of Baron Praxis, revealing that the Tomb was beneath it. After taking the Kid to the tomb, the Oracle stated that the Kid was too young to face the Trials of Manhood, and begins to shut the door. Jak and Daxter dove underneath it as it closed in order to find the Precursor Stone. After they managed to complete the Trials Of Manhood, the duo entered the main room, which held the Precursor Stone. There an Oracle told them that the Metal Heads were responsible for destroying the Precursors. Baron Praxis then arrived, and despite Jak's efforts, managed to escape with it. Back at the Hideout, Torn revealed that he sold the Underground out to prevent Praxis from killing Ashelin, who was Praxis' daughter. This caused a capture of several members of the Underground, who Jak and Daxter headed to the Fortress to rescue.. After they freed them, Jak and Daxter were shocked to find that there were two Green Sages—the young who led the underground, and the old who was taken into the Rift with them. Returning to base, both of the Samos sent Jak to find the Life Seed in his old hut, the Sacred Site, which would give Young Samos the power his older self had. Samos revealed that he was harvesting the Life Seed from the great tree in the hut years before they went through the rift. After escorting young Samos to the forest, he learned from Samos' meditations of Praxis plans to crack open the Stone to destroy the Metal Heads, which, while effectively destroying the Metal Heads, would unfortunately destroy everything else in existence as well. Later, Keira revealed she had nearly completed a replica Rift Rider based on the one that carried them into their current time, but was still missing two pieces—the Heart of Mar, and the Time Map. Jak soon after ran the Class-One race against Erol. Jak won, then gained an entrance pass to Praxis' Palace as part of his prize; Praxis ordered the guards to kill him upon realizing who he was. Jak and Daxter escaped due to Erol trying to run them down because he lost, missing, and crashing into several barrels of Dark Eco, which presumably killed him. At the Palace, Ashelin held Jak at gunpoint, demanding to know why he has been sabotaging Praxis' war with the Metal Heads. She didn't believe him when he told her that her father's plan to crack the Precursor Stone would destroy the planet, until she called Vin, who managed to convince her. She then told Jak and Daxter that Krew was building something for the Baron at a secret Weapons Factory in order to help Jak and Daxter any way she could. Jak and Daxter proceeded to the factory, and Krew revealed the Piercer Bomb, which could destroy the Precursor Stone. Krew then gave Jak a weapon damage upgrade mod, telling them to forget what they saw. However, Jak and Daxter refused, choosing the fight Krew in order to stop his plan. Though soon defeated, Krew managed to activate the bomb in a last-ditch effort to kill Jak and Daxter. They escaped with Ashelin only to discover that the Metal Heads had breached Haven City due to another treachery of Krew. Afterward, they became worried for Sig, who was sent on 'one last mission' by Krew. After Jak found him in the Underport using the Titan Suit, he revealed that the Metal Heads were coming in through a passage Krew had him open. After making it to the elevator out of the Underport, Sig disappeared when a large Metal Head crashed through a bridge upon which he had stood. Back in the city, Vin communicated that Kor sabotaged the Shield wall, and was immediately cut off as Metal Heads invade the Power Room. A last communication was a short fragment- "Construction Site". Jak and Daxter headed there immediately. At the city construction site Jak confronted Praxis, but was surprised to see Kor there. Kor tells Jak that in his darkest nightmares, he already knows why he's there. Kor then took on his true form as the Metal Head Leader. He demanded the Precursor Stone, but Praxis refused, making a heroic final front against Kor. Kor promptly struck him and his guards with a powerful eco blast, sending them flying, and took off flying in his true state. After pulling rubble off of him, Praxis showed the two heroes a second, backup Piercer Bomb which truly hid the Precursor Stone. He died, and Daxter successfully recovered the Stone, disarming the bomb. Heading to the Metal Head Nest, Jak and Daxter faced Kor, learning he had both the child and the Rift Ring. Kor revealed that the boy was really a younger Jak. Jak was sent to the past to gain the skills to face Kor, but Kor taunted Jak, because the older incarnation no longer had the 'inner light' needed to open the stone due to his Dark Eco exposure. After a climactic battle, the Metal Head Leader attempted to flee through the Ring. He crashed into it, severing his head and damaging the ring. Young Jak touched the Stone, to release a Precursor, who departed through the disintegrating ring. Keira and the Green Sages finally arrived with the Rift Rider and send the young Jak and Samos to the past in order to keep the timeline correct. As the Rider departed through the Gate, Old Samos, who stayed, remarked, "It's funny, the boy won't remember any of this." Jak shook his head and replied nostalgically, " No, I do remember the light..." The group celebrated victory over the Metal Heads at Krew's old place, which Daxter took over for himself and remade into "The Naughty Ottsel". Sig showed up to the excitement of all of the people at the party, having survived his seemingly final battle with the Metal Heads, and Samos initiated a contemplative moment over the deaths of Vin and all of the other people who gave their lives. Then Sig gave Jak the Ruby Key, an artifact with the ability to bypass all security in Haven, and said he was the designated driver. After Jak grins and adamantly said he was done with adventures, Samos then said he thought they might meet Mar someday, commenting that he may be closer than they think. The game fades into a celebratory, firework filled night. Gameplay The Gameplay in Jak II differed to that of it's predecessor. It abolished Eco gameplay and replaced it with the Morph Gun, which he can combine with his traditional moveset. It also removed Power Cell progression and instead used sandbox gameplay and mission progression. Jak can traverse the city with Zoomers, which he can steal from the citizens. Jak II's gameplay has been described as frustratingly hard by some fans. It does retain several gameplay elements from its predecessor, however. Many missions, such as Catch Scouts in Haven Forest, are very similar to ones in The Precursor Legacy. Platforming gameplay is very similar to that of The Precursor Legacy too. Several Precursor Artifacts from the original make a return too, such as the Warp Gate, in addition to Jak's overall moveset which is expanded on with Dark Jak. Battles With additions of Dark Jak and the Morph Gun, and with the removal of Eco, Battles are similar to those in The Precursor Legacy. Enemies with long range moves are more prominent, and enemies are much more difficult to kill with merely a punch or kick than in the first game. Bosses *Baron Mech (Squid) (Site of battle- the top of Haven Palace) *Baron Mech (Spider) (Site of battle- Mar's Tomb) *Krew (Site of battle- Weapons Factory) *Metal Kor (Site of Battle- Metal Head Nest) The Morph Gun The Morph Gun is a weapon Jak acquires fairly early on in the game. It has 4 mods- the Scatter Gun, the Blaster, the Vulcan Fury and the Peace Maker (which are acquired in that order). The Morph Gun became essential to defeating enemies and bosses, as it is more powerful than close combat moves such as punch or kick. Dark Jak By collecting Dark Eco, Jak can transform into Dark Jak, who is far more powerful in close combat and has several Dark powers. Soundtrack The entire Jak II Soundtrack was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, Josh Mancell, and Larry Hopkins. Script See here Gallery File:Jak II NSTC cover.jpg Dark Jak.jpg Scene5.jpg Guard.png Videos 350px|left Category:Games